Approximately 25% of a retailer’s annual returns are associated with the few weeks following the holidays. Product returns are even more pronounced in the eCommerce field. During the 2016 season, 1 out of every 3 purchases were returned.
Chargeback Protection
Chargebacks are of special concern during the holiday season since eCommerce dominates the holiday shopping season, with steady year-over-year (YOY) growth in both desktop and mobile sales. Consumers all over the world take advantage of discounts and promotions on Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday, Boxing Day, and Cyber Monday.
According to Adobe Analytics, American consumers spent $19.62 billion online from Nov. 23, 2017 (Thanksgiving) through Nov. 27 (Cyber Monday). This made up $2.6 billion, and it was 15% more than they spent during the same period in 2016. About 58 million people did their shopping online only, as compared to nearly 51 million at physical stores only.
Chargebacks may be caused by unclear policies provided by merchants or because these policies can’t be found by consumers. So, it’s highly important for merchants to make sure all the information customers need is easily and accurately located on the website. Moreover, it’s recommended to have it located in multiple locations.
Thankfully, there are reputable payment processors like emerchantbroker.com that provider unmatched chargeback protection services to merchants of any type and size. EMB is voted the nation’s #1 high risk processor that serves both traditional and high risk businesses. EMB boasts an A+ rating with the BBB and has an A rating with Card Payment Options. Emerchantbroker.com talks to every single business owner and gets to know their business so to provide only the best for their success.
Product Returns and Chargebacks During the Holiday Season
The biggest problem associated with product returns lies in the fact that the majority of them won’t show up until well into the next quarter. As a result, merchants may have a difficult time judging how much revenue they’ll get for the holiday season.
Moreover, merchants are also faced with the problem of fraudulent chargebacks. So, it’s no stretch to say that the real nightmare for merchants comes after the holidays.
When it comes to the problem of late returns, timing, in regard to when gifts were purchased, can also account for chargebacks. The thing is that gifts purchased in September or October aren’t unwrapped until late December, so it’s quite clear how a purchase could slip past the standard 90-day return mark.
Many merchants rely on holiday shoppers for a large share of their annual revenue. However, they shouldn’t underestimate just how much traffic they’ll get during this period. You, as a merchant, should do your best not to go into the holidays underprepared. You should take the right steps to protect your revenue against excessive and unnecessary online chargebacks.